No, Cowen says the best ethnic food is in strip malls, and they're in strip malls ringing large cities. It by no means follows that the best food overall resides in strip malls. The comparison is to other ethnic restaurants, particularly Asian, and not to restaurants in general.

And of course, Cowen includes a section on exactly how hard it is, and how creative he had to be, to get decent Chinese food in rural Virginia.

It is obviously not true that the best food overall can be found in exurban and rural strip malls.

I've eaten in 48 states, including tons of malls. If that is what the book is saying, it is bullshit. Not to mention that in most malls you only find the same generic franchised BS.